Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) type B is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM). They report the clinical follow-up of a 16-year-old Mexican mestizo woman with a NPD type B phenotype who presented hepatosplenomegaly, persitstenly low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and thrombocytopenia, without central nervous system involvement. After of a dengue fever episode with severe anemia and pancytopenia, leading to a bone marrow study n which foamy histiocytes were noticed and diagnosis of NiemannPick disease was suspected; and confirmed by biochemical and molecular tests.
The missense c.1343 A>G (p.Tyr448Cys, formerly Y446C) and c. 1426C>T (p.Arg476Trp, formerly R474W) mutations in the SMPD1 gene were identified. These mutations have never been reported in the Mexican population. Since the c.1343 A>G (Y446C) mutation has been previously reported in a Japanese patient with NPD type A, they suggest an attenuator effect of c.1426C>T (R474W) allele (previously associated with the NPD type B phenotype).
In conclusion, this is the first description of the concomitant occurrence of Y446C and R476W mutations in a Mexican patient with NPD type B, showing the importance of increased awareness and availability of specialized diagnostic tests in the diagnosis of rare inherited metabolic diseases.
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